Always
by hummingyay
Summary: Post Chat Blanc. 5 years following Chat Blanc, Alix finally reveals the truth about what happened that day. Marinette and Adrien reflect on the past five years. S3 Spoilers.


**Note: **Idk, if I were them, I'd be so _mad. _They could've been happy, and there were all these dumb variables that were keeping them apart. It's _stupid _and I want them to cry about it lol.

* * *

**Always**

"I…I don't understand," Marinette stammered. Alix sat in her and Adrien's living room, turning her pocket watch over in her hands. Adrien sat at Marinette's side, their hands clasped tightly together.

"It's been five years since Chat Blanc," Alix remarked, "I'm letting you know exactly what happened because I will have to go back and make a time alteration. I wanted you guys to know."

Adrien furrowed his brows.

"I don't remember being akumatized," he recalled.

"It's because I had to pull Ladybug into the timeline where you were," Alix explained, "By undoing the exact moment that you discovered her identity, we created a new timeline in which Chat Blanc doesn't exist. A safer timeline."

"Because Gabriel couldn't threaten me or Marinette," Adrien deduced. It wasn't surprising that his father had gone to such lengths in this alternate timeline that neither he or Marinette recalled.

Beside him, Marinette shuddered.

When Alix left their apartment, Adrien and Marinette sat in silence for a while, absorbing the information.

Adrien was sixteen years old when he discovered Hawkmoth's true identity. However, by then, he'd been estranged from the older man, having had enough of his treatment towards him and his friends.

The last straw was when he discovered that Gabriel had actively tried to keep Marinette away from him, even after they began dating.

He was fifteen and a half when he officially ran away from home, finding refuge with his former bodyguard, who had promptly quit his job. The break didn't hurt as much as Adrien had expected it to.

With Marinette by his side, constantly reminding him of how much she loved him, he felt brave enough to face his new reality.

Adrien's mother was gone, his father was a poor excuse of a human being, and his assistant an accessory to his crimes.

He could understand how the revelation would turn an unloved, lonely 14-year-old boy into an akuma.

He felt Marinette press herself against his side and he looked down, his eyes softening when he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. He gently reached up to wipe the tears falling onto her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Bugaboo?" he murmured.

Marinette sniffed, "It's just…we could've been happy that whole time, and we couldn't because there was something in the universe that wasn't letting us."

"Just one thing," Adrien gently corrected, "But it's gone now."

"I know," Marinette whispered. "When I think about how lonely it was after Master Fu left, and knowing what we could've had before all of that…" she paused and looked Adrien in the eye, her bluebell gaze revealing a pain that resonated from deep within Adrien, "…it just hurts, you know? All that _time_! We could've been _happy_!"

They'd been led astray for a brief time, pursuing other people, but always winding up looking back at one another. Adrien could recall feeling like he wanted to cry whenever he watched Marinette, and it wasn't until they discovered their identities that everything made sense.

_The day Adrien and Marinette discovered their identities was one of the happiest days of Adrien's life. Though it certainly didn't start that way. The magic between the two heroes had worn off, revealing two terrified teens. Adrien gasped when he recognized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, standing where his Lady once was._

_He could've sworn that his heart stopped beating for a moment._

_"M...Marin-" he took a step forward, his hand stretched towards his friend. She didn't move, but the pure horror that crossed her face was enough to make him stop in his tracks. His heart restarted, accelerating dangerously. _

_Marinette wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to protect herself from the truth. _

_"I know that we weren't supposed to find out our identities," 15-year-old Marinette whispered, "...but this is too cruel..." _

_"What do you mean?" Adrien asked. _

_"The universe is punishing me," Marinette answered, turning away from Adrien, "That's the only way this is possible. Why, why, why?!" _

_Marinette gripped her pigtails, pulling her scarlet rubber bands loose. Ink-black hair spilled over her shoulders in a messy heap. She was distressed, and unraveling fast. Adrien wondered how long she'd been in this state; being the new guardian without any guidance was one thing, but doing that on _top _of fighting Hawkmoth?_

_Adrien wondered if Marinette was angry that out of all the people her partner could have been, it wound up being _him_. He'd seen the way she'd avoided him for months, right after he, her and Kagami hung out when Love Eater attacked. Though it puzzled him in the beginning, Adrien couldn't exactly deny the way his heart would throb seeing Marinette walking away from him._

_It felt like she was running away, and she didn't want him anywhere near her._

_Now that he had her to himself, he needed answers._

_There were too many things that didn't make sense before that were clicking into place, and Adrien was going to get his answers for once. He cleared his throat._

_"Marinette," Adrien called, "Are you upset that it was me the entire time?"_

_Marinette whirled towards Adrien, mouth agape._

_"Upset?" she parroted, "No, of course not! I could never be upset with you, Adrien."_

_"But you are upset..." Adrien pointed out._

_Even without her mask, Adrien knew when his Lady felt anxious or angry or scared. It amazed him how he hadn't noticed it before. Even now, with her shoulders tensed and that one wrinkle in her brow appearing, Adrien wanted nothing more than to break down that barrier between the two of them and take her away where they could be safe for once._

_He noticed, with alarm, that Marinette's eyes were beginning to glaze over, something she was prone to doing before crying._

_Without thinking, he crossed over and embraced his friend, squeezing her tightly against his chest. She was trembling._

_"Bug, please tell me. What's wrong?" _

_She shook her head, and Adrien could feel his neck become wet from her tears. He hugged her closer to his body, determined to get the truth from her if it was the last thing he did._

_"You're my best friend," he said, "and I know that you don't want to hear this, but I _love _you. Ladybug and Marinette. I love _you_ and I want you to be happy..." _

_The tears came out more easily now, and Adrien could feel Marinette reaching up his back to hug him back._

_"Chaton...Adrien..." she murmured, "I'm always happy when I'm with you."  
_

_Marinette stepped away from Adrien to look him full on in the face. She looked absolutely heartbroken, despite her words. A fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face, dripping freely onto the floor._

_"I've been in love with you since we met," Marinette confided, "But we can't be together, because something bad happened the last time we were together..."_

_Adrien's brain registered three things:_

_1.) Marinette loves him back, and has been in love with him for as long as he loved her._

_2.) They'd been together before._

_3.) They can't be together now._

_He felt sick._

_She was _there, _just barely within his reach and she was still walking away from him. Walking towards a future where they were meant to only pine after one another. The revelation was enough to knock him off his feet, leaving him breathless._

_"Why can't we be together?" he whispered, his heart throbbing painfully against his chest._

_Marinette shook her head, "Last time, Hawkmoth found out...and it nearly destroyed the world..." _

_He gritted his teeth._

_Of course, fucking Hawkmoth would find out about it._

_Adrien's sorrow gave way to white-hot rage. It erupted in the pit of his stomach, enveloping in its wrath. Hot tears began to form in his eyes, streaming down his cheeks. _

_He wasn't going to let Hawkmoth take her from him._

_Not when she was so close._

_Adrien strode forward, and grasped Marinette's hands, holding them against his chest. His eyes softened when he heard her whimper; bringing her hands up to his lips, he pressed a tender kiss to the backs of her hands._

_"I _refuse _to let Hawkmoth take you away from me," Adrien vowed. _

_"We can't prevent it," Marinette argued sadly, "Our love will destroy the world..."_

_"Marinette!" Adrien snapped angrily, desperately, "We're Ladybug and Chat Noir and we _love _each other. I don't give a fuck about what Hawkmoth thinks he can do because we'll beat him every single time. We'll protect each other and it'll be okay this time around."_

_"But the last time-"_

_"How long ago was that?"_

_A year and twelve days._

_"It was a while ago, wasn't it?" he asked._

_"It doesn't matter when it was!" Marinette burst, "Because it could happen again!"_

_She let out a sob, "I love you but we can't be together, and I don't want to give myself the hope that we could actually be happy, especially if it's just going to get ripped away from us in the end, and-" _

_Adrien'd had enough._

_He gripped her wrist gently in his hand, pulling her closely against him, effectively silencing her tirade. He gazed down at her face, raising his free hand to wipe away her remaining tears._

_"Marinette," he whispered, "My Lady..._please _don't make me keep away from you. It _hurts _knowing that I can't be with you even though we love each other."_

_Her eyes widened at his confession, and Adrien took it as a breakthrough._

_He leaned close to her, giving her a moment to push away if this truly wasn't what she wanted. To his relief, shaky hands snaked around his neck, resting at his nape, her fingers cold against his skin. _

_"I can't stay away from you anymore," Adrien murmured, "I love you, Marinette. It's you. It's always been you."_

_"Adrien..." Marinette breathed._

_Without warning, Marinette pulled Adrien down to her, crushing her lips against his. He could feel her anger, her frustration, her joy, sorrow, and unwavering love for him. He knew these emotions well because they mirrored his own towards her. The two teens spent the rest of the afternoon together, exchanging kisses and words of love and affection._

_When the moon rose high in the sky, the two fell into a companionable silence, their fingers tightly locked together. Adrien looked down to find Marinette resting her head on his shoulder, a peaceful smile on her lips. He hadn't seen her this relaxed before and wondered if her role as Ladybug kept her weighed down._

_He pressed a kiss into her hair, and leaned his head against hers. _

_His heart soared when he heard her sigh happily._

_For once in a long time, the universe finally made sense to the pair. __That night, they vowed to protect not only their city, but their happiness as well. _

The woman crying in front of Adrien at this very moment, the love of his life, looked very similar to how she did on that rooftop four years ago. He recalled that one year where they weren't sure of anything, loving each other so deeply and having to keep it a secret from each other and the world.

He never wanted to feel that way again.

He never wanted Marinette to feel that way again.

His heart throbbed when a sob escaped her lips.

She cried, shedding tears for the younger version of themselves that they knew would be spending the next year alone and in pain. So close, and desperately in love, but always out of reach. Far from the truth, but always close enough to have to blindside you and hurt.

Adrien didn't answer.

He leaned forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Marinette, who pressed her face into the crook of his neck. His could feel his skin becoming wet from her tears.

"I love you, Adrien," Marinette confessed, "I love you so much that it hurts, and I don't know what to do with myself. Sometimes, I wonder how it's even possible for someone to love another as much as I love you."

He knew exactly how she felt.

"That makes two of us," Adrien whispered. "You make me so happy Marinette, and I want you to remember that always."

He separated from Marinette, holding her hands again. His thumbs brushed over the rose gold band on her ring finger, reminding her of the promise he'd made her only a few months before, in front of their friends and family.

He met her eyes, "I love _you_. I've always loved _you_, and it doesn't matter if the universe was always working against us, or if I have a _supremely _shitty father. What matters is that we're here now, and that we love each other. Right, Buginette?"

Marinette sniffled, and nodded.

She leaned up to Adrien and pressed her lips to his, sighing when Adrien returned the gesture. Wrapping her up in his arms, Adrien tugged on his wife, pulling her up until she was comfortably seated in his lap. He could feel Marinette smile against his lips as he kissed her one, two, three times more before separating again, leaning his forehead against hers.

"It's you and me, Marinette."

She smiled, and Adrien felt as if the entire world lit up.

"Always."


End file.
